An Introduction to the AtSea Location Information Service ALIS

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An Introduction to the At-Sea Location
Information Service (ALIS)

• Prepared by
• ComSine
• Gatehouse A/S
• Smartcom Software
• Techman Software

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(a) ALIS Overview
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Project Overview

• ALiS is an exciting new service concept designed
  to provide yachtsmen with useful services and
  important safety information based on their
  location.
• ALIS is what is called a "location based
  service, which means using the positioning
  capabilities of GPS and the even more accurate
  Galileo system to automatically receive
  information and services relevant to your vessel
  and where it is at a particular time.
• The ALIS consortium is funded by the Galileo
  Joint Undertaking (GJU), which is a partnership
  between the EC and the European Space Agency and
  which is responsible for developing the Galileo
  system.
• Our task is to develop a working trial service
  for marine users and, if it proves there is a
  need for it, to roll-out a low-cost commercial
  service.
• We would like your input to help us make this a
  service that is really useful to yachtsmen

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Key Partners in ALIS
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What are Location Based Services?
Galileo or GPS satellite navigation systems
Internet connection
Assuming the user has a Galileo/GPS receiver and
a communications device a.) The user sends an
information request tagged with their position,
route etc. b.) The server sends a response
sensitive to the users position c.) additionally
the server automatically broadcasts messages
relevant to users at particular locations
ALIS Server
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What Information can I receive from ALIS?

• We want you to tell us! Some examples are
  included below, but please put your own ideas in
  the questionnaire at the end
• Note that not all ideas can be implemented in the
  pilot, but the system framework will be flexible
  enough to allow additional services to be added
  easily at a later date. Ideas not initially
  implemented will therefore still be investigated
  for their suitability
• Initial Ideas
• Whos near me? Positions and details of other
  ALIS users in the vicinity (e.g. for club members
  or race competitors)
• How far am I? Simple calculation of distance from
  a certain feature
• Whats the weather like? Weather forecasts
  specific to your location and planned route,
  possibly including current weather reports
  measured from the instruments of other ALIS users
• Navigation warnings, MCA Notices etc.
  automatically broadcast to ALIS users without
  needing to catch the scheduled broadcast

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What Information can I receive from ALIS?

• Initial ideas continued
• Access up-to-date Almanac data, such as where is
  the nearest marina or fuelling point, or when
  does the lock gate open, including the latest
  updates.
• Request real-time updates such as marina berth
  availability (and book it through ALIS), fuel
  prices, actual height of tide, etc.
• Receive chart corrections relevant to your
  passage and your chart folio, whether paper or
  electronic
• Receive AIS transmissions on board, even if you
  dont have an AIS receiver, or the vessel is out
  of AIS range. Also possibly have ALIS messages
  broadcast over AIS
• Vessel management services vessel tracking
  facility, shore managers can be notified of an
  alarm on board, monitoring with off track or out
  of area alarms . . .
• Now over to you for your ideas

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Hardware and Connections

• ALIS is a client-server application
• For on-board communications, ALIS is initially
  being designed to work with any suitable mobile
  Internet device
• A range of client devices will be supported,
  e.g.
• Smartphones
• PDAs
• However, the pilot will be restricted to
  operating on Windows PCs (e.g. notebook
  computers) with WiFi, or external mobile phone or
  satellite phone to provide a mobile Internet
  connection.
• In the longer term, possible alternative
  communications mechanisms could also include
• Satellite radio broadcasts
• AIS transmissions
• SMS text messages.

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Initial Trials Areas

• English Channel (UK side) from Brighton to
  Portland Bill
• South of France, from the Italian border to
  Marseille
• East coast of Denmark

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(b) ALIS Technical Overview
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The ALIS Concept

• to provide mariners with a commercial marine
  Location-Based Service (LBS) based on retrieving
  Galileo/GPS data collected from ships and boats,
  and the accompanying server-side GIS manipulation
  of dynamic and static spatial datasets to provide
  a unique marine location-enabled marine
  information service
• ALIS users would subscribe to the service and
  elect to regularly automatically transmit, via
  satcoms or terrestrial services, their location
  to a shore-based ALIS server via their
  Galileo/GPS receivers connected to a range of
  standard wireless terminals (e.g. Smartphone,
  PDA, laptop, etc.).
• From an on-board ALIS client, users will be able
  to submit interactive queries related to their
  location, as well as receive automatic alerts
  relevant to their position.
• Relevant comms services that could provide the
  necessary two-way data communication path include
  UMTS/GPRS/GSM phones, Iridium satellite phones,
  or Inmarsat terminals.
• Users on-board ALIS clients could range from an
  SMS message interface on a mobile phone through
  to ALIS graphical display software with chart
  backdrops for use on PDAs and laptops.

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ALIS System Concept
NB Comms could be satellite or terrestrial based
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ALIS - System Concept
NB Comms could be satellite or terrestrial based
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Possible ALIS Features

• Based on a users supplied positions, ALIS could
  tell (either interactively or via broadcast)
  mariners who and what is in their vicinity so
  they can react/plan accordingly, e.g.
• Allows users to ask questions such as where is
  the nearest marina with a free berth for
  tonight?, where is the nearest fuelling
  jetty?, etc.
• Automatically alerts users to the proximity of
  other ALIS-subscribed boats, such as Boat xx is
  n nautical miles from you on a bearing of zz
  degrees. This could either be on an open basis
  of all users (excepting any that wish to stay ex
  directory), or a closed group such as a holiday
  charter fleet or competitors in a race.
• Is tied into information services such as Notice
  to Mariners (NTMs), SafetyNet messages, chart
  updates, navigational and weather forecasts, e.g.
  You are in the proximity of a Naval Trials
  area, You are in the vicinity of a severe storm
  warning, etc..
• Provides a gateway between AIS and non-AIS ALIS
  users, i.e. ALIS can receive AIS data from
  AIS-equipped boats or from AIS shore-based
  authorities and make this available to ALIS
  users.
• Provides a gateway between maritime distress
  systems and ALIS users, i.e. ALIS users would be
  informed of distress calls in their vicinity
• Provides a mechanism for sea users to pass on
  information about local conditions, i.e. an ALIS
  user can transmit weather and sea condition
  information measured by their boat to ALIS for
  dissemination to other users.

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ALIS On-Board Client Concepts
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Possible ALIS Data Sources
e.g. weather forecasts, SafteyNet messages chart
updates, Almanac data PoI data, etc..
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(c) Galileo Overview
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Why Galileo?

• ALIS can work equally well with either GPS or
  Europes forthcoming new satellite navigation
  service Galileo
• With the full Galileo service not being available
  under 2008, all trials will be carried out using
  standard GPS receivers
• However, although GPS users will certainly be
  able to use ALIS, it is our intention to brand
  ALIS as a Galileo application (although one that
  one that can interoperate with either system).
• The following slides introduce Galileo and some
  of the potential advantages it will have over GPS

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Galileo Mission Summary

• Galileo will consist of 30 satellites in a
  constellation, the associated ground
  infrastructure and regional/local augmentations
• The constellation is divided into three circular
  orbits, inclined at 56 to the equator, at an
  altitude of around 23 000 km to cover the Earths
  entire surface. Nine satellites (plus one spare)
  will be spread evenly around each plane, with
  each taking about 14 hours to orbit the Earth.
• Calculation of position is essentially the same
  as with GPS a users receiver needs signals
  from at least four satellites

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Galileo Services

• Open Service (OS)
• Free to all users. Accuracy of position dependent
  on how many frequencies received (three maximum)
  by a users receiver
• Safety of Life Service (SLS)
• used for transport applications where lives could
  be endangered if the performance of the
  navigation system is degraded without real-time
  notice
• Commercial Service (CS)
• aimed at applications requiring higher
  performance than offered by the OS. It provides
  added value services on payment of a fee and is
  based on adding two (encrypted) signals to the
  open access signals
• Search Rescue Service (SAR)
• near real-time reception of distress messages
  from anywhere on Earth with precise location of
  alerts. Also includes a SAR return data channel
  (i.e. allows information to be sent from the SAR
  operator to the distress beacon)
• Public Regulated Service (PRS)
• Encrypted service which will be used by groups
  such as the police, coastguard and customs. Civil
  institutions will control access.
• ALIS would be open to all user groups, but we are
  assuming most of our users will be OS users,
  although there may be interest in ALIS
  broadcasting SAR alerts to ALIS users

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Other Galileo Mission Points

• Galileo is an joint EU/commercially funded
  satellite positioning service
• The first satellite was recently launched and the
  intention is to have an operational service in
  2008
• Having Galileo and GPS offers users redundancy in
  case one system fails
• Galileo responds more quickly to system problems,
  so position errors due to satellite problems are
  less likely
• The free-to-use open service is accurate to 4
  metres, better than GPS at 10 metres
• Part of the Galileo system includes Search
  Rescue (SAR) traffic. ALIS could broadcast this,
  and other SAR traffic, to ALIS users in the
  neighbourhood
• Galileo supports local services similar to
  Differential GPS, to give a more accurate fix.
  The corrections could be broadcast over the ALIS
  service, as well as information such as Galileo
  integrity messages
• Galileo has much more accurate vertical
  positioning than GPS, so ALIS users can gather
  sea level information and send it ashore, for
  broadcasting to give more accurate tide height
  data

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(d) Potential User Ideas and Feedback
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Information Exchange Need

• We are considering building a commercial version
  of the ALIS system, but we want to make sure that
  what we build will be useful to the marine
  community
• We are therefore soliciting feedback and ideas
  from sailors, data providers and marine
  organisations who can see the potential of ALIS
  and who have ideas that will help shape it into a
  useful and feasible tool for all.
• Answering some questions will therefore be a big
  help to the ALIS team and very much appreciated.
• An online questionnaire can be found at
• http//www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u408363474944
• If any of you would be interested in trialling
  the pilot ALIS service, then please let us know
• we are running trials of a pilot service in the
  English Channel, the Mediterranean and the
  Baltic
• Note that although use of the trial ALIS service
  is free, we will not cover your communication
  costs.